A Massachusetts teenager who hacked his way into the mobile phone of Paris
Hilton and posted her celebrity pal’s contact information online has pleaded
guilty and been sentenced to 11 months in a juvenile detention facility.
The teen cracker, whose status as a minor prevented courts from releasing
his name, pleaded guilty to nine counts of juvenile delinquency
last week before Judge Rya W. Zobel in U.S. District Court in Boston.
The
names and phone numbers of dozens of celebrities, including
Vin Diesel, Anna Kournikova, and even pictures of Hilton were later posted
on the Internet by the hacker.
Along with breaching the computer systems of T-mobile, the teenager also
admitted the theft of personal information and making bomb threats against high
schools in Florida and Massachusetts during a 15-month terror spree.
The charges were the result of the defendant’s action occurring during a 15
month period beginning in March, 2004 when the Juvenile sent an e-mail to a
Florida school with the caption, “this is URGENT!! Your all going to perish
and flourish…you will all die Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. we’re going to have a
‘blast'”
“Computer hacking is not fun and games,” U.S. Attorney Sullivan said in a
statement. “Hackers cause real harm to real victims as graphically
illustrated in this case. “Would-be hackers, even juveniles when
appropriate, should be put on notice that such criminal activity will not be
tolerated and that stiff punishments await them if they are caught.”
Had the juvenile been an adult, he would be facing three counts of making bomb threats against a person or property, three counts of causing damage to a computer system, two counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of
criminal trespass with a computer system, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The judge also ordered the teen be prohibited from accessing the Internet for two years following his release from detention.
